Donegal footballer Amy Boyle-Carr didn’t want to live with the regret of wondering ‘What if’ had she declined the opportunity to play in the AFLW for the Adelaide Crows this year.
The Glenties woman arrived in South Australia in mid-July when she was memorably greeted at Adelaide Airport by her Crows teammates holding aloft handmade ‘ABC, ‘Carrnage’ and ‘Boyeling’ signs to welcome the Irish rookie to Australia.
Boyle-Carr, a three-time Ulster champion with Donegal, winning player of the match in the 2019 Ulster final, has taken to Australian rules like a duck to water in pre-season and has set her sights on winning the premiership in her first campaign.
“There are a lot of similarities between Australian rules and Gaelic football even though the rules and structures are very different, so I have taken as much from the Gaelic side of it as I can to help me adapt,” Boyle-Carr told The Irish News.
“There’s no doubt that my welcome at the airport is hard to beat for anyone and the girls have all made me feel very welcome from the first day I arrived in Adelaide.
“It’s great being a part of a professional environment, and although it’s not easy learning a new sport, all of my coaches have reassured and encouraged me to focus on what I am good at.”
And Boyle-Carr added: “The end goal is to win an AFLW Premiership and by setting my standards high, it pushes me to continuously challenge myself to improve.”
A talented all-round sportswoman, Boyle-Carr has also represented Ireland in soccer when she was selected to play in a FIFA World Cup Qualifier against the Netherlands in 2018, as a teenager.
Now at the age of 23 and entering the peak years of her sporting career, Boyle-Carr is coming to terms with mastering the kicking skills of the oval ball (Sherrin) in AFLW.
“Kicking the Sherrin, learning kicking techniques, as well as the structures within the game are my biggest challenges but I feel I am improving in every training session and in the practice matches I have played.
“The more sessions I get in, the more practice I get kicking the Sherrin, the better I will get.”
Former Donegal star Yvonne Bonner, who retired after the 2023 AFLW season at the Crows, has been instrumental in helping Boyle-Carr to make the leap into the unknown 10,000 miles away in Australia.
The Glenfin woman hung up her boots after 21 career games, including 11 for Greater Western Sydney Giants in 2019 and 2020, before returning to Ulster during to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Yvonne has been really helpful, she’s always supportive, and I have learned a lot from her,” Boyle-Carr explained.
“I have always had high standards but learning a new sport you have to be realistic and realise that sometimes things don’t go well, so in those situations you have to just focus on the basics.”
Boyle-Carr is open to the possibility of extending her AFLW career even if there is a scheduling clash between the All-Ireland and AFLW seasons in the future which could deny some Irish women the opportunity to participate in both codes every year. She signed a one-year deal as a rookie for the 2024 season but will reconsider her options next year.
“It will depend on each individual player’s personal circumstances as to whether they will want to play in AFLW or Gaelic in Ireland,” Boyle-Carr said.
“If the two codes overlap it would be a big decision for me not to play for Donegal to focus on AFLW but I would be open to talking about it.”
In the immediate, Boyle-Carr is settling into her new life as an AFLW players which is not without its perks.
“Its winter here but its better weather than back home even in summer sometimes,” she said.
“Here I can concentrate solely on footy, whereas back home I work from 8am to 5pm, then I go to training, whereas at the Crows I have access to professional facilities all day long.
“When I was offered the opportunity to join a professional sporting environment, I just couldn’t turn it down.”
